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National leader of Korean War vets, from Clay, asked to resign after embellishing record

KoreanWarVet-JimFerris.JPG

Jim Ferris, of Clay, national president of the Korean War Veterans Association, salutes at a wreath-laying ceremony at the 59th anniversary of the Korean War armistice at Arlington National Cemetery on July 26, 2012 in Arlington, Va. Next to Ferris, on the left, is former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. Ferris wore a Marine Corps combat ribbon to the ceremony and other military awards that he never earned. ( Department of Defense photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo)
(Department of Defense photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo)

Washington -- The nation's largest group of Korean War veterans has asked its president to resign after he admitted wearing military combat ribbons and other medals for valor that he never earned.

James E. Ferris, 81, of Clay, president of the Korean War Veterans Association, has already been replaced on an interim basis at official functions, a KWVA official said today.

The action came after board members said Ferris should no longer represent the organization, said Roy Aldridge, of El Paso, Texas, the group's second vice president.

"It's been a terrible thing," Aldridge said. "But we know we've taken the appropriate action."

The board initially declined to accept Ferris' resignation after The Post-Standard reported May 1 that the Marine Corps veteran wore at least five medals he never earned to a series of national events.

The events included ceremonies where Ferris stood alongside Vice President Joe Biden and former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Ferris also has been invited to the White House several times, and attended a breakfast with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Aldridge said the board changed its position after hearing from members of chapters across the nation who said Ferris should no longer represent them.

"We had a lot of requests that Jim step aside," Aldridge said. "And like the rest of us, he's not in the best of health. That was one of the motivating reasons."

Ferris, reached at his home in Clay today, confirmed his resignation and said, "I'm not well anymore. But it's for personal reasons, mainly."

When asked to elaborate, Ferris would say only, "The membership will find out when it goes through the proper channels."

Aldridge said the KWVA's membership of about 15,000 veterans has not been notified as a group about the change at the top. He said the change will be become official with the completion of a routine audit, done anytime the group has a change in command.

In the interim, First Vice President Larry Kinard, of Mansfield, Texas, has taken over the duties as president, Aldridge said.

Kinard, not Ferris, represented the KWVA in Washington on May 6 when new South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited for a wreath-laying at the Korean War Memorial and a reception on Capitol Hill.

The change in leadership comes as KWVA is preparing for a series of high-profile national events in July to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended hostilities in Korea. A national event is planned July 27 in Washington, D.C., at the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

Aldridge said the group will have to move forward on those plans without Ferris, a lifetime member who helped build the KWVA into a national group.

"It's a sad affair when anything like this happens," Aldridge said. "But we're recovering and pressing on as we normally would. We're all sad that this happened."

Ferris, who was stationed in the United States and Japan during the Korean War, told a Post-Standard reporter who questioned his military awards that most of those he wore publicly since the 1990s belonged to his late brother, Frank W. Ferris.

When confronted earlier this month, James Ferris said he was embarrassed: "I made a mistake. I wore my brother's medals that I shouldn't have worn. I'm deeply sorry for it. But I have never professed to be some kind of combat action hero."